| Black Agenda Report

Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Crystal Fleming’s “How to Be Less Stupid About Race”
19 Sep 2018
The racism of the larger society is internalized in us, including those of us who are Black and brown, and must be methodically confronted. “The work of pushing for progressive change is unceasing and intergenerational.”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Martha Escobar’s “Captivity Beyond Prisons”
19 Sep 2018
Rather than benevolent protector, the state enables and often perpetuates violence against marginalized communities, criminalizing them. “Criminalization developed as a tool for white supremacist social organization.”
Paul Street
White Lies and Blue Codes: Laquan McDonald’s Killer Goes to Trial
19 Sep 2018
Things could get very ugly in Chicago if the cop that killed Laquan McDonald is set free by a jury that includes only one Black person. “Van Dyke and his wife have been presented as if they are the real victims.”
by BAR contributor Danny Haiphong
Letter to Kaepernick: Where Do You Go from Here?
19 Sep 2018
Long before the Nike deal it was clear that Kaepernick’s politics were being subsumed by other forces pushing a weak soup of “diversity” and “free speech.” “All the commercial achieved was the erasure of Black struggle under the banner of ‘diversity’ and the ‘American dream.’” Dear Colin Kaepernick…
by BAR contributor Ann Garrison Ann Garrison
Two African Heroes Leave Prison in Rwanda
19 Sep 2018
Rwandan dictator Paul Kagame has released two of his best known political prisoners: Victoire Ingabire, a Hutu political activist, and Kizito Mihigo, a Tutsi gospel singer. “Ingabire said that she would continue trying to open political space and free all political prisoners.”
by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner
Save The Overtime…
19 Sep 2018
“…hear me now, five, four, three, two, one… Runnin' to the door, peepin' out the window Hopin' to see only you Listenin’ for the phone, checkin' out the tick tock Countin' if it's a certain time Darling, don't stay away too long Pretty baby, I know you're working hard for me Darling, baby, don't…
Dr. Matthew Quest
A Concise History of the Repression of Black Protest at HBCUs
19 Sep 2018
The greatest thing about HBCUs are the toiling students fighting for justice on these campuses. Not the college presidents, boards of trustees, the administrators, teachers, or coaches. It is the students who, under adversity of both institutional racism and the duplicity of some who minister to…
by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
Papa Bernie Got a (Not So) Brand New Foreign Policy Bag
20 Sep 2018
Bernie Sanders obscures the facts of US militarism, and urges Americans to fixate on axis of evil oligarch-ruled countries that does not include the home of the richest oligarchs of all: the United States. “The U.S. is an oligarchy in which business interests almost always get their way.”
Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
Letters from BAR Readers
22 Sep 2018
Articles exposing the hypocrisy of supposedly honorable figures who push for, or enable, war and regime change resonated with readers over the past few weeks.
by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner
Wilson Goode Way
26 Sep 2018
“You lit the fuse, I stand accused You were the first for me But you turned me out baby (you dropped a bomb on me) Baby, you dropped a bomb on me…” Him Goode nigga, him ‘bout brotherly love as Goode nigga mayor ‘round Reagan years— ketchup was Vegetable, contras Freedom Fighters… Him Goode nigga,…